GENERATION OF INTRATHYMIC MICROENVIRONMENTS TO ESTABLISH T-CELL TOLERANCE

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White blood cells called T-cells are an essential component of the immune system, a body-wide series of cells and organs that is essential for life. T-cells are directly required to fight against bacterial and viral infections, as well as to help other immune system cells to make antibodies. The thymus is an immune organ in the chest that is the exclusive site for the production of T-cells. The importance of T-cells and the thymus for the continued health of the individual can be seen in examples where thymus function is abnormal, which can result in immunodeficiency or autoimmunity, where T-cells are either absent or reactive towards to the bodies own tissues. Unlike many other organs, thymus function is not constant throughout life: it diminishes rapidly as we get older, meaning that fewer T-cell are produced as we age. We aim to understand how T-cells are produced in the thymus by investigating how a specialised component of this organ, the thymic epithelium, develops and functions. By understanding how the thymus epithelium guides the production of T-cells, we hope to be able to apply this knowledge to the rejuvenation of thymus function, which will improve treatments where it is necessary to restore T-cell production, such as following bone marrow transplantation in the treatment of cancer.